For most of his 26 years in the U.S. Senate, Chris Dodd has been known as a sharp wit, an Irish humorist who doesn’t shy away from a battle of wits or a self-deprecating quip.

That identity was very much on display Monday night as Dodd made an appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

Eveb showing up was, to some extent, a courageous move, considering Stewart’s frequent putdowns of Christopher Dodd’s almost non-existent poll numbers in the crowded Democratic presidential field.

According to the Hartford Courant, Jon Stewart primed the audience at the onset by promising an interview with the “Connecticut senator and non-front-running candidate.”

But it was Dodd who set the humorous tone early, making a reference to the botched press conference in Nebraska Monday by his friend, Chuck Hagel, the Republican and Iraq war opponent who announced that he isn’t announcing for the presidency… yet.

“I’m here to announce that I’m here,” Dodd deadpanned.

But for the most part, Dodd followed standard media etiquette of never out-staging the show’s host, humbly laughing at Jon Stewart’s wisecracks.

When asked what he brings to the race that other candidates can’t offer, Dodd said his lengthy service in the Senate and authoring formative legislation like the Family and Medical Leave Act set him apart.

“Sir, you’re offering competence,” Stewart said as the audience roared. “I have to tell you, sir, I don’t think the people will buy it.”

Dodd gamely laughed at that and then conceded that the crowded Democratic field made him feel “a bit like being on American Idol.”

Lisa Teague, 39, a human resources manager in New York and a member of the studio audience, typifies Dodd’s problem with the 18-to-49-year-old set.

“Oh, is Christopher Dodd going to announce for the presidency tonight?” she said, unaware that Dodd had actually declared for the presidency in January.

“Dodd is really up against some star power with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson in the race,” Teague said.

“How do you run from a position that far back?”

But Teague laughed heartily during Dodd’s five-minute appearance and said after his interview with Stewart that his performance resonated with her.

“Humor is so important,” Teague said. “It makes a politician seem approachable and human, and Dodd definitely did that.”

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